1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus used in the construction and building trades. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices used to hold a leveling device against objects.
2. The Prior Art
In the construction industry, workers regularly use leveling devices. The most common of such leveling devices is usually referred to as a "carpenter's level" but other devices, including electronic devices, are also used to determine the horizontal, vertical, or angular orientation of a various construction members.
Leveling devices are ubiquitously used to check that construction members, such as horizontal headers and sills, are level. Leveling devices are also used to determine when other construction members, such as vertical studs, are plumb. A commonly used leveling device includes a measuring edge, generally a relatively lengthy straight edge, which is placed against the surface of the object to leveled or plumbed.
Frequently, a lone construction worker needs to keep a stud or other vertical construction member plumb while fastening the stud into place. The task of fastening a stud into place is a difficult one when one hand is occupied with holding the leveling device in place and the other hand is occupied with fastening the stud into place. Because the worker must both hold the leveling device and the stud in position, the task of fastening studs into place is slower than desirable and the installed studs are sometimes out of plumb.
One device which has been proposed in the art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,296,708 to Moody. The Moody reference discloses a level which is removably attached to metal corner bead used in drywall installations. The metal corner bead is manufactured with a plurality of holes along its length. The device disclosed in the Moody reference attaches to the holes in the corner bead and thereby holds the leveling device against the corner bead. Disadvantageously, this device is only designed for us with drywall corner bead and would require that holes be made in the objects before it could be used with objects such as studs.
Another attempt in the art to provide a device for attaching a leveling device to another object is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 2,776,495 to Dickey. The device disclosed in Dickey attaches to vertical construction members such as studs but must inconveniently be adjusted by tightening a nut each time the device is attached to a stud.
In view of the long felt need in the art to solve these problems, it would be an advance in the art to provide an apparatus for conveniently attaching and removing a leveling device to objects such as studs.